Sick Day
by pianonerd
Summary: Everyone gets sick, even Coulson and May. A series of two one-shots when these two agents take care of each other when they're sick.
1. May's Sick Day

**Disclaimer: **I do not in any way, shape, or form own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I only write fanfiction for my own amusement, and hopefully, for the enjoyment of others.

**Author's Note: **The idea of either May or Coulson getting sick and one or the other is not very original, but I decided to write my own interpretation of this idea. I tried to edit all grammatical errors, but I apologize in advance if there is any. I hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

Upon waking up, Agent Melinda May groaned, half in frustration and half in pain. She felt achy all over, her throat felt like it was on fire, and sweat was rolling down her forehead. She hadn't felt this awful in years. May was shocked when she checked the time; it was already noon! Her internal clock didn't even wake her up to start her daily routine of doing Tai Chi first thing in the morning.

When May rolled out of bed, she groaned again. Unwillingly, May changed so she could start her job and proceeded to go to the kitchen to see if her stomach could handle anything without making her lurch.

"Good morning Agent May!" chirped Simmons when May walked into the kitchen. "You're up uncannily late, are you alright?"

"Mm fine," growled back May, which was all she managed to rasp out with her soar throat.

"Oh dear, that won't do," said Simmons, "Agent May, you are not well. You should be lying down in bed, resting, not attempting to work."

"Simmons is right, since you are sick, most likely with the common cold, you should be resting so that you're back in the fighting spirit as soon as possible." continued Fitz, unnecessarily explaining Jemma's motives.

"I said I'm fine. I don't need you two pestering me." May proceeded to go and make herself some licorice root tea, hoping that it would help with her soar throat. Before she could even start drinking her tea, she started having a coughing fit.

"Wow, even May can get sick," remarked Skye as she walked into the kitchen. "That's not something you see every day, or ever."

"I'm not sick," said May, frustrated after she finished coughing.

"Haha, sure," laughed Skye, "Whatever you say, May."

May proceeded to drink her tea, trying not to puke in the process. Her stomach churned as she drank the hot liquid, but she kept on drinking the tea because it soothed the burning sensation in her throat.

"Agent May, if you are not going to rest, you should at least take some Tylenol or something to help soothe your symptoms in order for you not to be in constant pain or discomfort," said Simmons, trying her best to help to stubborn agent however she could.

"I'll be fine after I drink my tea and eat something," said May.

"Something to eat, perfect!" said Simmons, cheering up. "Skye, Fitz, help me make some soup to help Agent May feel better, you cannot deny our help for something Agent May, we'll make you some food while you rest a bit."

May was too tired to argue with the three, so she just nodded and went to sit down.

"Hey, May, why don't you go and lay down, relax, and wait for us to take a bowl of soup to your bunk. Don't worry, rest up a bit, and we'll bring it up to you," suggested Skye.

"Something wrong, May?" asked Coulson when he walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing is wrong, Phil," replied May. She went into a coughing fit again, giving away that she was sick.

"Alright, I'm taking you back to your bed," said Coulson, with his don't-mess-with-me voice.

May just nodded, and unwillingly let Coulson lead her back to her bunk. When they arrived at her bunk, Coulson helped May get into her bed, covering her with a blanket to help her be as comfortable as possible.

"Is there anything I can get you May, a book, a cup of tea, anything?" asked Coulson. "You know, maybe you should just rest up a bit."

"Coulson—" May couldn't finish talking because she started coughing again.

"May, just rest for a little bit. I don't mean you have to sleep, but lay down a little, read a book, relax; It'll help you feel loads better than you do right now," said Coulson patting May's back to help to her stop coughing.

"Fine," spat May in return to Coulson's suggestion, "I'll lay down a little while, but Phil; would you stop pestering me and hand me a book before you leave?"

"Oh, I'm not leaving," said Coulson. "I'm staying here to make sure you stay in bed and don't try to do anything work-related, even paperwork."

"I won't—"

"Now, what book should you read?" Coulson picked one of the books he thought that would cause the least stress and would help May relax.

"Seriously, Coulson, a romance novel?"

"I'll have you know May, Jane Austen's Emma is not just a romance novel. It has very complex character development, and it depicts Romanticism in England perfectly," explained Coulson, defending his selection.

"Sure, whatever you say," smirked May, smiling at Coulson's description. "I'm no expert, so I'll have to take your word for it."

* * *

"Why is this story so addicting!?" exclaimed May after an hour of reading. There was now an empty cup of tea and an empty bowl on the desk next to May's bed. May drank a cup of tea and a bowl of soup that Skye, Fitz, and Simmons made for her.

"Because that's what good stories do May, they are engaging and keep you wanting more," said Coulson, nonchalantly replying, too engaged in his own book to pay much attention to May's question.

"I think— I think I'm going to go to sleep now," said May yawning, obviously exhausted from just being sick.

Coulson nodded. He put a bookmark in the book he was reading, closed it, and went to tuck May in.

"I don't need— to be tucked in like a child," said May, coughing in the middle of her sentence.

"I know, but I want to take care of you May," continuing to fluff the pillows, gently helping May lay down. "You should really accept help once in a while, especially when you are sick."

May only nodded, her eyes drooping closed because of our exhaustion. Soon enough, after tucking May in, Coulson could hear the soft snoring; he moved some hair from May's forehead and went to sit on the chair near her bed.

* * *

The next morning May awoke, feeling ten times better than she did the day before. What she did not expect to see, was Coulson, laying down in an uncomfortable position, asleep on the chair near her bed, the book that he was reading still open on his chest. "You look ridiculous, Phil," whispered May; she smirked ever so slightly at the sight.

May changed into her 'work out' clothes and proceeded to start with her morning routine, Tai Chi. Though she was not feeling one-hundred percent better, she felt well enough to walk around without the constant achiness, the only symptoms that remained was a stuffy nose and the occasional urge to cough.

After she finished doing Tai Chi, Coulson started to stir, "Ow," he said, rubbing his neck from the position that he had been sleeping in.

"That's what you get for sleeping in a chair instead of a bed, but thanks for staying, I feel lots better than I did yesterday."

"It's really no problem, May. I only wish that you would let the team take care of you more often," said Coulson. "If not the team, let me take care of you. I've known you for ages May; I know when you need help and when I should back off."

"I'll think about it. Now that I'm feeling better, I definitely want to shower before going to eat something."

"I'll leave you to shower in peace," said Coulson, mock saluting May before leaving her bunk.

* * *

After a refreshing shower, May walked into the kitchen to make herself some tea and eat breakfast.

"Hello, Agent May; are you feeling any better today?" asked Simmons when she saw May walk into the kitchen. Skye and Fitz were also there, sipping their preferred beverages.

"Yes," replied May. "Thank you for the soup."

After May had finished eating and drinking her tea, Coulson walked in.

"I guess now that May is better, we can start on our next assignment," said Coulson. "You alright with that, May? Are you feeling well enough to work on an assignment?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," replied May.

* * *

After finishing their assignment that day, May went back to her bunk where she found a note:

_I had fun hanging out with you yesterday. I'm glad you're feeling better, just don't get sick too often, I know I said I don't mind taking care of you, and I don't, but I get worried easily. Also, I won't be able to make rational decisions without your judgment._

_-Phil_

May smiled, maybe it wasn't so bad getting sick every once in a while.

* * *

**End Note: **I hope you enjoyed this fanfic! I am working on a follow up chapter and will have it posted as soon as possible. Please review if you feel inclined; constructive criticism is welcomed :)


	2. Coulson's Sick Day

**Disclaimer: **I do not in any way, shape, or form, own Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. I only write fanfiction for my own amusement, and hopefully, for the enjoyment of others.

**Author's Note: **Here is the follow-up chapter! Coulson gets sick; May takes care of him. Just for context, you remember in season 3 episode 22 when it said, "6 months later"? Yeah, that's when this story takes place. I think that this is a great time in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. time-line to take some creative liberties. Takes place after Daisy leaves, but before Mace becomes director. I also tried to edit all grammatical errors, apologies in advance if there are any left. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Gun-shots, yells, flashing lights. "Daisy, don't go!" Running to try to catch up to her, but Daisy vanished into thin air, leaving nothing where she once stood. He fell on his knees, covered in blood—

"Ahh!" Coulson woke up with a yell. Startled by the nightmare he had been having, then he realized, it wasn't a nightmare, Daisy was really gone. Coulson rolled into a sitting position on his bunk, putting his head into his hands, feeling the sweat rolling down his temple.

After calming himself from his nightmare, Coulson stood up, trying to function as a normal human being, despite the fact that he knew he was sick. The universe, however, had different plans for Coulson, one of them involved having a coughing fit and trying not to choke in the process. Black spots started to appear in Coulson's line of vision, and he took some very deep breaths the steady himself.

Coulson finally looked around his room to see the time, it was around five in the morning, another night that he had spent restlessly dreaming about Daisy running away, and now, of all times, was when he had to get sick. _Should have taken care of yourself a few days ago when you started feeling bad, Coulson heard his subconscious say. Now go and find May you idiot, May will be good company, and she'll make sure you don't pass out in the process of making stupid decisions by not taking the day off and rest. _Coulson gave into his subconscious's advice and put on a sweater and sweat-pants before leaving his room. With any luck, May would have already finished with her daily Tai Chi, and not be pissed at him for interrupting her.

Coulson walked as slow as possible, his muscles aching, screaming at him to get back in bed and rest, but he kept on walking to find May, looking like a lost puppy trying to find its owner.

Once he found May, Coulson sat down on the mats and closed his eyes, patiently waiting for May to finish her Tai Chi routine.

"Can't sleep?" asked May, sitting down next to Coulson. "Or should I say, was it about Daisy, again?"

"Mmm," was the only reply Coulson gave, shivering because of the fever that he refused to acknowledge.

"You want to talk about it?"

"It was— it was the usual kind of dream, blood, yells, and Daisy running away," said Coulson, coughing at the beginning of his sentence.

"You don't look so good, Phil," said May. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Just don't feel all that great," replied Coulson, trying his best, and failing, at sounding as casual and fine as possible.

"Phil, you're shivering while wearing a sweater in a warm room, don't give me that 'don't feel all that great' bullshit. I also noticed that you haven't been looking too great for at least two days." May gently placed her hand on Coulson's forehead, trying to asses how high of a temperature Coulson had. "I think you also have a low fever, but I'll double check once we get to the kitchen. You should try resting today."

"I can't rest today, May," said Coulson. "There's too much stuff to do today, paperwork, and other important stuff."

"Yeah, paperwork. Coulson, someone else can take care of that, heck, I'll even do it for you, but you should really take the day off."

"Agent Melinda May, willingly offering to do paperwork?" said Coulson, looking skeptical. He coughed again, he mouth going dryer the more he spoke. "I'd rather have your company, May. Also, do you have any water here?"

May stood up and went to get a water bottle; Coulson, on the other hand, seemed to be getting paler as the time passed. "Here," said May, handing Coulson a water bottle. "And once you finish, if you don't want to go back to your room and rest, we're going to go and get you something to eat, so that you won't starve."

"I'm fine May, I'll go with you to the kitchen, and then I'll start my busy day." only partially agreeing with May.

"Like hell you are, you are _not_ going to work!" May said, not leaving any room for questions.

May stood up and offered Coulson a hand, which despite him trying to deny the offer, ending up accepting it because of his protesting muscles.

"I feel old," said Coulson, once he was on his feet and they were on their way to the kitchen.

"We're both getting old, Coulson. We just don't like admitting it." May stated.

"Mmm," hummed Coulson, not agreeing, or disagreeing with May's statement.

The two silently walked to the kitchen. Once they reached their destination, it was eerily quiet, almost too quiet. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, of the main crew, I can tell you what they're doing," said May. "They are probably sleeping like normal people would, until at least seven, before they have to get up for work."

"Yeah, I guess they would be doing that. I forgot how early it is." Coulson said, with a look of realization on his face.

"Now let's get you something to eat, then you're going back to your room and resting until whatever you have is gone," demanded May.

"Fine, I'll eat something… as long as you're not the one making my meal, that is," teased Coulson, coughing afterwards. "I think I'd rather starve than eat one of your concoctions."

"Great, thanks," growled May. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"I know, have a way with— words, don't I?" Coulson gave May a cheeky smile and started coughing repeatedly, again. May patted Coulson's back, even she knew it wouldn't help much, but in the very least, it would send a few comforting waves.

May went to go and get the thermometer, "C'mere Coulson, let me check your temperature."

Coulson begrudgingly went to where May stood, and opened his mouth. "Ah."

May stuck the thermometer in his mouth, once it got a read of his temperature, she took it out and read it, "One-hundred-and-one-point-five, it's not too bad, but you should diffidently take it easy. Here, I'll make you some tea," said May, once she gave Coulson her own assessment. "That's one thing I know I won't poison you because I made it."

Coulson nodded, looking drowsy. He grabbed a chair and plopped ungracefully on it.

"You're definitely staying in bed today," said May while taking a good look at Coulson. "I'm also going to ask the team not to bother you while you rest, and yes, I will be staying with you to make sure you rest."

Coulson nodded, trying not to look as miserable as he felt. Once the kettle that May was boiling water in started to whistle, she turned off the fire. She carefully poured the water into a mug then proceeded to immerse the teabag in steaming water. "Here's some elderflower tea, not really sure if you'll like the taste, but theoretically, it should help with your fever. If it doesn't, I'll have Jemma give her own diagnosis."

"Thanks." Coulson felt the steam of the tea clearing his nostrils, as the floral scent filled his whole body.

"Now, I'm going to make you some eggs, that way you'll still have some protein in your system, but it's still easy to digest," said May.

"When did you become a nutritionist, May?"

"I'm not, but I know my way around things. I hope so anyway, especially at our age."

The two were silent, May cooking an egg for Coulson, while Coulson was sipping his tea, occasionally coughing.

"One fresh scrambled egg, and no, it's not burned, and yes, it's perfectly edible." May set the plate with the steaming egg in front of Coulson, and put another plate next to him, she pulled out a chair and sat down next to Coulson.

"Bon appétit," said Coulson. They ate their meals in comfortable silence.

* * *

After both Coulson and May had finished their respective meals, May gave Coulson a look that signified that he had better follow her earlier instructions, go to his room and rest.

"Come on, the team won't mind cleaning up this small mess," May offered Coulson her arm because she noticed how exhausted he looked.

Coulson let May lead him back to his bunk, just because he felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. May tucked Coulson into his bed and asked, "Do you want to try and sleep, or do you want to read?"

"I'll go with the—" Coulson coughed. "Reading. Can you pass me a Captain America comic book?"

May smiled gently, as she handed Coulson one of the comics from his very large collection. "Will this one do?" asked May, not even looking at the title, just handing him the one that already had a bookmark.

"Yeah, thanks, May." Coulson shifted more comfortably and started to read. He momentarily looked away from his comic book because of the racket he heard; he saw May, true to her previous offer, was sitting at Coulson's desk, working on the clutter of paperwork he should have been doing today. "Wow, I'm surprised May, I must really look awful if you really are willing to do paperwork."

"Don't push your luck," a small smirked that May was suppressing appeared.

No more than a few minutes had passed before May heard Coulson snoring. She looked up to see him peacefully sleeping, Captain America comic still open. May shook her head and helped Coulson get into a more comfortable position to sleep.

* * *

May checked the time it was now eight in the morning, that meant the crew should already be awake, working on their assigned task. In the time that Coulson had been asleep, after assuring herself that he would not wake up, May went and took a shower and changed into a clean set of clothes, not desiring to stay in the workout clothes that she had been using during her Tai Chi routine. Suddenly, there was a nock on the door; before May could tell the intruder to not make too much noise because was Coulson sleeping, Mack came in, with multiple files occupying his hands. "Oh, sorry. I can come back if this is not a good time—"

"No, you're fine. Coulson's not feeling so great, he has a low fever, I told him to take the day off," May explained. "I put myself in charge of the paperwork, so I can take care of that if you'd like."

Mack raised an eyebrow when he heard May willingly offered to do paperwork but decided not to comment. "It's about some Daisy or Quake as they're starting to call her; she's has been spotted multiple time over the past week, and since Coulson told me to let him know about any activity that I heard about, I've brought some reports I think he'd like to see."

"Thanks, Mack," said May, grabbing the papers that Mack was handing her. "I'll let Coulson know you dropped these off when he wakes up."

"Yeah, no problem," said Mack, as he was exiting. "And let Coulson know I hope he feels better soon."

May gave Mack a smile and nodded, letting him know she would.

May sat back down on the chair and started to work on paperwork. She sighed and rubbed her temples, just thinking at the amount of paperwork that still needed to be completed gave her a headache. Coulson, by then, had started squirming, obviously in the process of waking up.

"Mmm," groaned Coulson. "Don't think I feel anything better than I did this morning." Coulson now officially sounded like he had a frog in his throat.

May went and put her hand on Coulson's forehead again, "You aren't any warmer than you were this morning actually, but I can't tell if you're any cooler either. And in your throat should just be some phlegm, it should clear out soon enough."

Coulson nodded, still drowsy from waking up.

"Mack said that he hopes you feel better soon." Another nod.

"Do you me to get you anything?" Coulson shook his head. "Okay, I'm going to go and get the thermometer to take your temperature again. On second thought, you keep one of those in your room, right?"

"Yeah," Coulson's throat was sounding clearer. "It's in that drawer over there." Vaguely pointing in a general direction.

"Wow, very descriptive Coulson," luckily May knew the layout of Coulson's room well enough to know what he was pointing at. "Sit up."

Coulson followed May's command. "Ah."

"Oh, don't give me that exasperated tone," May said, as she stuck the thermometer in his mouth. "Ninety-nine-point-five. You've almost gone down enough, to not consider this a fever anymore, you might just feel crummy."

"Yeah, thanks for describing exactly what I feel right now, run over with a truck is more accurate though."

"You seem to have a sense of humor again, that's a good sign," said May, rolling her eyes at Coulson's antics. "You hungry, thirsty?"

"Bored. Can I help you with the paperwork?" Coulson asked, trying his best to get out of resting all day.

"No," was the only response that May gave, leaving no room for any argument.

The two were silent for a while, May working on paperwork, Coulson reading his book, looking bored.

"May."

No reply.

"May."

"What is it Coulson?" May did not look up from the desk.

"Can—"

"Nock, nock," came Jemma's fluttery voice. "Can I come in?" She asked, already walking through the door.

"Not much of a point in asking that question, Jemma, especially if you're just going to waltz right in," Coulson said, sitting up in his bed, looking interested in what Jemma was holding in her hands.

Jemma snorted, "I'm sure Agent May is taking good care of you, but Mack informed us that you are not feeling well, Yoyo, Fitz, and I made this."

"Thanks, Jemma," said Coulson, with a smile. "Let Agent Rodriguez and Fitz know I said thank you."

"Of course, sir," Jemma placed down the tray that she had brought with her on a nightstand next to Coulson's bunk. "I'll leave this here for whenever you want to eat."

After Jemma left, May looked and Coulson and said, "The team spoils you too much, you know that?"

"I like to think that they're just considerate," said Coulson. "I think it's very kind of them to make me something since they all have things to do."

May smiled and shook her head. "Eat, you should be hungry. You also don't want to let the soup and tea get cold."

"Yes ma'am," Coulson gave May a mock salute and followed the directions she had given him.

* * *

It was noon, Coulson had eaten his meal already, taken a shower, and changed into clean sweats and a shirt. And now, much to May's annoyance, he was pacing around his room.

"Coulson." May tried to sound as un-annoyed as possible and failed.

"Yeah."

"Don't you want to read anymore?" asked May, hoping that—

"Not really, I've already read all the Captain America comics multiple times."

May shook her head, "Of course you have."

"You want to go and grab some lunch?" Coulson asked, his stomach growling showing that he was hungry. "I feel much better."

"We can go and eat, but don't overwhelm yourself, just because you feel great right now doesn't mean you won't get tired easily." May stood up, walked towards Coulson, and put her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature for what Coulson thought was at least the twentieth time that day.

"I'm fine, May," said Coulson, offering her a smile. "You already said that the fever is nearly gone, if you like, I'll even try and take another nap after we eat."

May gave a nod of approval, and the two went to the kitchen to go and eat something.

When they arrived at the kitchen, it was empty, which was not something that happened often during lunch, but Coulson knew that agents would randomly come and grab something to go most of the time and then go back to work.

"I'm going to heat up the soup that Jemma, Yoyo, and Fitz made you earlier," May said as she went to the stove where the pot filled with soup stood, waiting to be heated up whenever necessary.

After letting the soup warm for about seven minutes, May served two bowls, putting one in front of Coulson, noticing how the man looked tired. "Here, it's hot so you might want to—"

Coulson had already burned his tongue, giving out a little screech.

"—be careful… Blow before you stick it in your mouth next time, alright?"

"Hot!" Coulson barely managed to get the word out of his mouth, feeling the boiling soup burn its way through his throat and into his stomach, he eyes tearing as a reaction.

May couldn't help it and gave a small giggle, and she would seriously injure Coulson if he told anyone about it. For the rest of their meal, the two were quiet, except whenever Coulson coughed, or either one of them was blowing on the soup to cool it down.

Coulson grabbed May's bowl after they had both finished, rinsed both bowls, and put them in the dishwasher. Meanwhile, May made two cups of tea, elderflower for Coulson, jasmine tea for herself.

"We're going back to your room so you can rest and drink your tea there, okay?" May's question did not sound like a question. Coulson nodded, his eyes starting to betray how tired the man actually was. "Here's your tea."

"Thanks, May," said Coulson. "I'm also not all that tired."

Coulson immediately went to his bunk once they reached his room, not protesting that May told him to sleep, barely managing to drink all of his tea because he was already half asleep.

"Not tired my ass," said May, once she saw how quickly Coulson had fallen asleep. Instead of going back to Coulson's desk to do more paperwork, May decided that she would go and read one of those Captain America comics that Coulson was so obsessed with. May herself started to feel sleepy after roughly an hour of reading, and she fell into a peaceful sleep on the ridiculously uncomfortable chair that she had moved next to Coulson's bunk.

* * *

At around five in the afternoon, Coulson woke up, surprised to feel almost one-hundred percent better, and even more surprised to see May asleep on the chair that should have been near his desk, but May most have moved it closer to make sure that he was alright. Coulson knew that she would probably wake soon, but none-the-less, he went and covered her with a blanket, then he went and grabbed the files with the label "Daisy Johnson Reports" and took them to his bed to read over them.

"I thought I told you not to work today," said May, sleepiness still in her voice. About fifteen minutes after Coulson had started reading the reports.

"Technically, I'm not working," said Coulson. "I'm just reading reports that happen to be associated with work."

"Sure," May said while she was stretching from being in the hard chair. "You feeling any better?"

"Yeah," Coulson replied. "Thanks for taking care of my sorry ass, again."

"If you get again, next time, just take care of yourself sooner, okay?"

"Of course," Coulson smiled. "Besides, I'm too afraid of what you'd do to me if I don't take care of myself."

* * *

The next day, May gave Coulson permission to start working again. The only symptoms that Coulson had left was a small cough that would go away soon enough. Sometime in the middle of the day, when Coulson went to his room to grab something, he saw a small note on his bed. Unfolding it, it read:

_Take care of yourself._

Coulson smiled, "Thanks, May."

* * *

**End Note:** I hope you enjoyed this follow up chapter! Please review if you feel so inclined; constructive criticism is welcomed. Also, fun fact, (that you may have already known), have you ever wondered what the song that was playing in the background at the very end of Season 3 Episode 22, you know, whenever A.I.D.A. has her "birthday"? Yes, no, maybe… it's Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor (no. 20). It's a really beautiful piece of music; I highly recommend listening to it :)


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